Editorial: Diplomat's words pack a punch in Afghanistan

President Barack Obama made headlines with his address Wednesday to the nation announcing an aggressive drawdown of U.S. troops
in Afghanistan.

But, to us, the speech of the week was
actually delivered to several hundred students at Herat University, in
western Afghanistan,
by America’s top diplomat in that nation, the outgoing ambassador
Karl Eikenberry.

In that address, Eikenberry rebuked the
leaders of Afghanistan. This U.S. ambassador, who was the military
commander in Afghanistan
prior to becoming ambassador, has been critical in the past of
Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Three weeks ago, Karzai accused
the U.S. of acting like an occupation force. This is just Karzai’s
latest offensive comment about the U.S. His remarks and
behavior over time have been troublng, to say the least.

Last weekend, Eikenberry had had enough and spoke from the heart:

”When Americans, who are serving in your
country at great cost — in terms of lives and treasure — hear
themselves compared
with occupiers, told that they are only here to advance their own
interest, and likened to the brutal enemies of the Afghan
people ... they are filled with confusion and grow weary of our
effort here,” he said. “Mothers and fathers of fallen soldiers,
spouses of soldiers who have lost arms and legs, children of those
who lost their lives in your country — they ask themselves
about the meaning of their loved one’s sacrifice. ...

”We came here in 2001 to defeat
international terrorism and help lift the dark veil of over 20 years of
conflict from the
Afghan people. Together with you, we have accomplished so much.
Of course, over the course of our time here, our learning
curve has been steep. That is because Afghanistan’s political,
social, and economic situation is complex, we do not speak
your language and are far from home. But — in spite of our
mistakes — we are a good people whose aim is to help improve our
mutual security by strengthening your government, army and police,
and economy. And we know that there have been many accomplishments.

”We have built schools and clinics;
trained and equipped your army, police, ... and fought and sacrificed
with them battling
the enemy of your state; we have constructed roads and power
stations; trained midwives, engineers, and journalists; offered
scholarships to my country; helped organize and advise your
counter-narcotics police, judicial security units and elite Major
Crimes Task Force; improved your Customs Service; helped
facilitate the Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement; renovated
the Herat Citadel and many historical sites in Afghanistan;
installed a world class Air Traffic Control radar at Kabul International
Airport; invested hundreds of millions of dollars in bettering
your agriculture system; helped renovate the Kabul museum;
supported the revival of music, sports, and culture in your
country; constructed roads — even while being attacked by insurgents.”

It was fitting that Eikenberry delivered
this address at Herat University, where the U.S. brought Internet to
the classrooms,
built a journalism and media center, created an English language
and computer teaching center, sent agriculture and engineering
faculty for master’s degrees, in addition to funding architecture
and engineering labs.

”Here at Herat University,” he said, “we
see the future of Afghanistan in its classrooms. We see future
teachers, future
entrepreneurs, future agronomists, future engineers, future
ministers, and yes, even future ambassadors. I believe that together
we can create a prosperous and peaceful future for Afghanistan,
one that has immense opportunities for the young generation
and those that follow.”

As Obama discusses plans for the troop drawdown, Eikenberry’s words remind us what the past 10 years’ worth of bloodshed and
sacrifice were all about.

The point for our presence there was to ensure “that Afghanistan can never again become a haven for terrorists and violent
extremism,” our ambassador said. “Our overarching objective is to harden the Afghan state so it is strong enough to reject
terrorist sanctuaries, fend off insurgency, and guard against foreign interference.”

We are glad that someone had the courage to say these words to the Afghan people.

Only time will tell us if our cause, which was just, was actually served.